5 Free Resources for When You Need 5 Minutes

As a teacher, some days I need five minutes. That’s all! Just five quick minutes and I can have a conversation with an administrator who just showed up at my classroom door. Five minutes would let me make a phone call to a parent volunteer who was unable to attend our meeting. However, I can’t just take five minutes because I teach kindergarten, and I can't ask my students to sit quietly for five minutes because that is a handwritten invitation to a roomful of 5-year-olds to get into trouble. So, I have created this list of five free online resources that are quick and easy, and will give you those five precious minutes in your early elementary classroom.

1. Storytime Station
One of The Mesh.tv's shows is a series of videos for your students’ enjoyment featuring different people reading books aloud. This is a great site because it offers books that your students may not be exposed to in any other venue. There are different readers for each book. Lulu the Snow Goat is my personal favorite in this series, but that may be because I had the honor of reading it! I also love the video for Up I Will Grow because it was written by my good friend, The Reverend Dr. Eric Childers.

2. GoNoodle
If you want your students to get some wiggles out during your five minutes, then GoNoodle is the resource for you! Directions for intentional and structured movements are provided with GoNoodle songs and videos. Laughter from the kids is a great side effect from five minutes of dancing and singing.

3. Storyline Online
Have you ever wanted to hear Betty White read Harry the Dirty Dog or Sean Astin read A Bad Case of Stripes? If so, then you need to run, not walk to this site! Celebrities engaging your class by reading great kid books and you gaining five extra minutes — what’s not to love? There are also activity guides to go with some of the featured books.

4. Do Yoga With Me
If GoNoodle gets your kids a little too active for your style, then this video of chair yoga that was designed for seniors may be your best bet. It’s a great five minutes that allows for movement, but students stay in their chairs and stretch it out.

5. Read to Me
The final resource is another site where celebrities (this time from Las Vegas) read some great books. I love that Rita Rudner tackles a Fancy Nancy book. Carrot Top reading Excuse Me is sure to be a kindergarten favorite. They have also included lesson plans for the featured books.

Make sure you either bookmark this post on your computer or pin this post on one of your boards so that you have quick and easy access to them when you need those five extra minutes.

As a teacher, some days I need five minutes. That’s all! Just five quick minutes and I can have a conversation with an administrator who just showed up at my classroom door. Five minutes would let me make a phone call to a parent volunteer who was unable to attend our meeting. However, I can’t just take five minutes because I teach kindergarten, and I can't ask my students to sit quietly for five minutes because that is a handwritten invitation to a roomful of 5-year-olds to get into trouble. So, I have created this list of five free online resources that are quick and easy, and will give you those five precious minutes in your early elementary classroom.

1. Storytime Station
One of The Mesh.tv's shows is a series of videos for your students’ enjoyment featuring different people reading books aloud. This is a great site because it offers books that your students may not be exposed to in any other venue. There are different readers for each book. Lulu the Snow Goat is my personal favorite in this series, but that may be because I had the honor of reading it! I also love the video for Up I Will Grow because it was written by my good friend, The Reverend Dr. Eric Childers.

2. GoNoodle
If you want your students to get some wiggles out during your five minutes, then GoNoodle is the resource for you! Directions for intentional and structured movements are provided with GoNoodle songs and videos. Laughter from the kids is a great side effect from five minutes of dancing and singing.

3. Storyline Online
Have you ever wanted to hear Betty White read Harry the Dirty Dog or Sean Astin read A Bad Case of Stripes? If so, then you need to run, not walk to this site! Celebrities engaging your class by reading great kid books and you gaining five extra minutes — what’s not to love? There are also activity guides to go with some of the featured books.

4. Do Yoga With Me
If GoNoodle gets your kids a little too active for your style, then this video of chair yoga that was designed for seniors may be your best bet. It’s a great five minutes that allows for movement, but students stay in their chairs and stretch it out.

5. Read to Me
The final resource is another site where celebrities (this time from Las Vegas) read some great books. I love that Rita Rudner tackles a Fancy Nancy book. Carrot Top reading Excuse Me is sure to be a kindergarten favorite. They have also included lesson plans for the featured books.

Make sure you either bookmark this post on your computer or pin this post on one of your boards so that you have quick and easy access to them when you need those five extra minutes.